GM CEO Barra Confirms FCA Boss Reached Out For Merger Meeting

General Motors CEO Mary Barra confirmed on Tuesday that she did receive an email from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne requesting a meeting to discuss a merger between the two powerhouses, according to Reuters.

During GM's annual meeting of shareholders, the first female CEO in GM's history said she rejected the proposal and that she has the support of the automaker's board of directors to continue going at it alone.

"We are merging with ourselves," Bara said, according to Reuters. "We're focused on our plan. We have scale. We have leveraged the appropriate opportunities."

Marchionne has been trying his best to convince rival companies and investors that the industry needs consolidation in order to cut costs, according to a report by The Wall-Street Journal.

Barra, who took over in Jan. 2014, also confirmed that she was interviewed recently by the U.S. Department of Justice over GM's faulty ignition switch recalls.

As we reported earlier this week, faulty ignition switches have been linked to 111 deaths and 3,868 injuries so far though that total is expected to rise before attorney Kenneth Feinberg finishes compensating victims later this year.

"We are going to continue to cooperate," Barra said during the shareholder's meeting regarding the DOJ's investigation, according to Reuters. "Anything beyond that is pure speculation."